Michael Maxwell (Second Chances)
)]] Name: Michael Maxwell Gender: Male Age: 17 School: P.J. Hobbs Senior High School Hobbies and Interests: '''Role-Playing, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Super-heroism, General Fiction '''Appearance: Michael stands at 5' 8" and weighs 145 lbs. He has very pale skin and flush cheeks. His eyes are green and he has hyperopia, which he treats with corrective lenses. His ears are large, and his nose is sharp. He is lanky and thin with no visible musculature. He is physically frail and lacks stability. His hair is a dull brown, and always kept combed to the left. His face is rounded, though his brow is more concave than the rest of his face. He wears neutral colors, usually dressed in tees and jeans. He has no accessories that make him stand out, apart from a hat emblazoned with the classical alchemical symbol of fire. On the day of the abduction he was wearing blue jeans, a gray tee with touches of red, and his hat. Biography: Born the only child of Gilbert Maxwell and Sylvia Lord, Michael was brought into a normal and unassuming family. His parents hadn't planned on having him, but his birth was no complication to their lives. They adjusted well, both finding work able to support their new family and their new lifestyle with their child. Michael didn't see much of his parents for his early life, being taken care of mostly by his aunt while his parents worked, but they showered him with love and affection whenever they could. They made it clear that he was a welcome addition to their lives. When he was five years old, his mother suddenly fell ill. For a while, they struggled financially as she had to be hospitalized. Ultimately however, she overcame the illness and the family went back to the way things were. After the scare, they slowly began to adjust and plan for unexpected events by putting more and more into savings, as well as living more frugally. This paid off, when Gilbert lost his job and went unemployed for a brief stretch when Michael was eight. The money they had saved helped them get by while Gilbert looked for another job. Once more, things went back to normal when they did. With the trying times the family didn't have much in any luxuries, much less any toys or games for a young child. Michael had to make due with the collection of books that his parents had gathered before he was born. He became an avid reader like them, in particular drawn to the great works of fiction available to him. He advanced quickly for his age and soon found himself lost in imagination of the fantastic worlds in the pages. In particular, he delighted in epic fantasy stories, science fiction space opera adventures, and superheroes clashing in amazing battles against vile villains. Michael grew up in a nice, quiet, simple life apart from that. He never experienced any hardship or difficulty himself. Over time, he began to take his life for granted, viewing his simple existence as boring. He started going more in-depth into fiction and stories that he had enjoyed as a child. He branched out from those into more complex stories and genres, engrossing himself in the worlds created in the pages of books and the scenes of shows and videogames. Fiction was a lot more fun and exciting than his normal life, so he spent much more time in his fiction than with real people as time went on. He never found it difficult to separate fiction from reality, but found the contrasts between the two all too easy to notice. In fantasy, people had fantastic magic and epic destinies. In reality, people were mundane and few amounted to anything spectacular. In science fiction, great explorations were made and amazing scenes were painted in the stars. Reality had, in his opinion, everything worth discovering already known and bland, dreary locales. Superheroics were clear black and white stories of good and evil, even when things were more 'realistic' they were never completely ambiguous. Real people acted in complicated ways with relative motivations and ambiguous ideologies. What video games he had allowed him to roleplay his own heroic fantasy, online sites let him play characters unlike anything he was himself. In real life he was weak, unskilled, or generally average in most things. These observations extended to his interactions with others. Kids his age weren't simple and easy to figure out. He would say or do things that made sense to him, but confuse or anger others. They would act in ways he considered illogical and contradictory. They would do something pointless or stupid, ask him what he thought, and then get angry when he noted how pointless or stupid their actions were. They were never really honest, in his opinion, of what they wanted to hear. Why ask for the truth if they didn't like it? He slowly began to withdraw from these needless complications with others. His pool of friends dwindled, he stopped interacting with new people, and eventually faded into the background. Even online, no one got to know the real him, nor did he try to know others. They were all just usernames on a screen. His school life had begun well, but began to suffer as Michael grew and waded deeper into fiction. His few friendships faded, his schoolwork degraded as he now put only the bare-minimum effort to coast along. His teachers would bring up their concerns to his parents, his parents would talk to him and try to get him to change, and for a few weeks each time things would improve. After those weeks, he slid back into his old habits time and again. Kids his age didn't concern him, he cared nothing for their interests except when they overlapped with his, and even then he only ever spoke about fictional things. His home life was little different. He withdrew from his parents, grew more insular, and became more distant. His mother and father wondered what had changed in their little boy, and why he no longer seemed to appreciate their love. They never stopped caring for and loving him, providing for him whatever they could, but they couldn't seem to get any closer to him. It wasn't that he didn't love them, as Michael assured himself, but rather that there was no need to do anything more. It was readily apparent from the way he lived that he was fine with them, so why bother doing anything in this drab, boring life? Advantages: Michael won't be swayed easily by the wants and desires of others, he'll stay on his own path. No ties to friends or comrades means no putting himself in danger for them either. If he sees something as dangerous to himself, he'll stay as far away from it as possible. Disadvantages: Since Michael has no interest in making friends or alliances, he won't have anyone to help him do what he alone can't. His physical ability is lacking, so he won't last long in an endurance or strength game. His selfish isolation throughout life has left him with poor social skills, so he may inadvertently anger people or annoy those whom it would be better not to. Original Profile: ''' Michael Maxwell (PV1) '''Designated Number: Male Student No. 13 --- Designated Weapon: Trident Conclusion B13 might fare better than a few others with that weapon and attitude, but I suspect that unless he decides to ditch fantasy for horror, his story will be ending sooner rather than later. The above biography is as written by Lord_Shadow. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made. Evaluations Handled By: Lord_Shadow Kills: 'None '''Killed By: 'Saachi Nidal 'Collected Weapons: '''Trident (designated weapon, to Jay Harland) '''Allies: '''None '''Enemies: 'Jay Harland, Saachi Nidal '''Mid-game Evaluation: '''Michael awoke near the ravine, where he soon spotted Miranda Millers, Natalie Chauncey, and Zubin Wadia. Miranda was already tense, having just witnessed a fight before the others woke or arrived, and she warned them to keep their distance while brandishing her tire iron. Michael was willing enough to comply, not in the mood for company, and he departed in spite of Zubin's protests that going alone was dangerous. Michael spent the rest of the day alone, awaking to the announcement the next day and traveling to the lake. As he went, he began to plan his strategy for going through the game alone, hoping to use stealth to his advantage. He had very little time with his own thoughts. Killers Jay Harland and Saachi Nidal were hiding on the other side of a shed from him, and Jay burst out from one angle to surprise and distract. It worked, and Michael didn't have the time to respond, only to regret his actions as he was unceremoniously butchered. '''Post-Game Evaluation: '''Should have listened to Mister Borat while you had the chance. '''Memorable Quotes: ''"Sorry but I have to disagree. I work best alone."'' -- When Zubin points out they should ally. Other/Trivia Threads Below is a list of threads that contain Michael, in chronological order. Memories of the Past: Second Chances V2: *Red or Dead *Two is Better Than One Your Thoughts Whether you were a fellow handler in Second Chances or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Michael Maxwell. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here! Category:Characters Category:Second Chances Characters Category:Second Chances